Painted Mural
by New Decade
Summary: Meeting their baby girl for the first time and the need to share their sheer joy of having their family completed.


Something sorta gooey I wrote for Father's Day this weekend. Celebrate dads everywhere!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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><p>Somehow, Carmen had always known that Eric would be the last to get married and raise a family, not necessarily because he was her youngest child, but simply because of his nature. When he was young he had always seemed more compelled to the sensual side of romance than the actual commitment to another person. Other women, who had thought along the same lines, a night or two of a "good time" and no promises made between them, influenced his habit. Carmen's Roman Catholic ways had always been frustrated with that way of life, but her thoughts weren't going to sway him by any means.<p>

However, in the recent years, everything changed within her son. His outlook on life, the way he went about his job and, most of all, the way he thought of women; women actually being only one _woman._ For years, all of Carmen and Eric's conversations had been centered on a Southern Belle with a knack for ballistics. Whenever they talked over the phone, Calleigh's name came up at least a dozen times and that number doubled when they talked in person. Carmen didn't have any recollection in her mind of the last time Eric had almost to the point of obsessed about a woman.

Carmen knew how her son's love was everlasting for this woman, so of course whenever a hiccup emerged in their relationship did it cause her worry. Not only because she had grown to love Calleigh as her own daughter, but she would become worried about Eric's heart and the fear that it would never mend. She would only be able to exhale when she learned that Eric and Calleigh were once again in each other's arms.

If she were this blissful about her son and Calleigh simply in a relationship, then she was absolutely ecstatic the day Eric came to her house and asked for his grandmother's wedding ring. She had always told him that if the day came her wanted to make a woman his bride, then she would give him the ring that had been passed down for generations to propose to her with. When Eric asked a day before Christmas Eve for the ring, her heart skipped a bit in excitement and she refrained herself from tears as she gave the piece of jewelry to her son before throwing her arms around him.

When she saw the couple again on Christmas Day, Calleigh had the ring on her finger and a wide smile on her lips.

Three years and nine months had passed since Eric asked for the ring, now she was walking down the hallway in the hospital to meet her new granddaughter. She was heading towards the room Eric had called from, her heart beating faster than a hummingbird's wings as the excitement of meeting her son's first child grew.

Carmen delicately tapped her knuckles against the door, the excited butterflies in her stomach increasing.

"Come in," she heard Eric say, his voice barely audible it was so soft. There was a tenderness in his voice that held strong emotion, detectable even through the door.

Carmen pushed down on the handle and stepped inside; the sight brought warm tears of joy to her eyes. Eric was standing by his wife's bed, stroking her untidy hair as she held the pink bundle in her arms. He had a smile, wide with pride and joy as he beamed at the two of them. Calleigh, significantly slimmer than the last time Carmen saw her, had an identical smile, only hers was tired due to her sixteen hours of sleepless, drug-free, labor. Her normally shimmering hair was scrunched with dried sweat and her eyelids were heavy over her eyes, but she still gave off that glow of overwhelming joy. Carmen knew the look well; she had seen it four times from herself and from her eldest daughters when they gave birth.

"Hey," Calleigh smiled up at Carmen as she approached the bed.

"Hi," Carmen replied, softly, as she came to standby Calleigh's other side and she was able to get a good look at the baby girl in her daughter-in-law's arms. The baby had her eyes closed as she slept soundly in her blanket. She had a white hat placed on her head, one or two strands of dark hair peeking from beneath the cotton. Her features held so much resemblance to Calleigh, but Carmen could see so much of her son in her as well, in her cheeks, in her nose and bone structure. She was absolutely gorgeous, the perfect combination of her son and the woman who brought him happiness, a small slice of Heaven.

"Oh, she's beautiful," Carmen whispered, her throat tightened in joy. "Have you decided on a name?"

"Rosa," Eric said, the smile broadening on his lips as he spoke the name.

"That's perfect," she breathed. "She's perfect."

"Yeah," Calleigh nodded, voice tender as she reached up with one hand to gently run her knuckle along Rosa's seemingly soft cheek. Carmen couldn't help but grin at herself to see Calleigh's emotions escaping so freely. She was usually so guarded with some of her feelings, constantly putting them in check. It was refreshing for Carmen to see tears welling up in her green eyes as she looked at her daughter.

"How're you feeling?" Carmen asked Calleigh, reaching up to tenderly rub her shoulder; she looked at Carmen, her eyes glowing with sheer joy.

"Great," Calleigh chuckled before converting her eyes back to Rosa. "Really great."

"She was incredible," Eric declared, his voice was full of pride, undoubtedly given by his wife, as he reached up to tuck a lock of untidy hair behind her ear.

Calleigh chuckled, lightly, her eyes still on Rosa, whose nose was twitching slightly as she slept. Calleigh attempted to stifle a small yawn, but failed, hardly having the energy to do anything except hold her baby—she had all the energy in the world for that.

"Maybe you should get some sleep now," Eric suggested, softly.

"No, I'm fine," Calleigh insisted, shaking her head. Carmen could see Eric thought she had earned some rest, but he didn't press the matter.

Carmen supposed Eric understood Calleigh needed this moment, despite how tired she was. Eric had been very supportive of Calleigh throughout her pregnancy, as he always was. He had been there to stay awake with her through the nights she couldn't sleep, he would willingly massage her back or feet when he sensed she was having some discomfort and told her she was beautiful when she didn't like the woman she saw in the mirror.

Carmen recalled how in the last nine months Eric's eyes had followed Calleigh more than usual. Watching intently for any signs of discomfort she may have been in, constantly checking in on her and making certain she was okay. Carmen fondly remembered spending an afternoon with Calleigh while she was on maternity leave. In the course of the single afternoon, Eric called to check on Calleigh at least seven times. She could tell Calleigh was attempting to be patient with Eric's slight anxiety, but it was apparent that he had taken his overprotectiveness to a whole new level.

Carmen knew, now that Rosa had arrived, Eric would now be constantly worrying about two people, as well as loving them with all of his heart.

"Do you want to hold her?" Calleigh asked, looking up at Carmen, who softly smiled and nodded. "Ready to meet Abuela?" she whispered to Rosa as she tenderly transferred the baby from her arms to her grandmother's.

The baby shifted a little in Carmen's arms before settling contently once again in the pink blanket.

"Hello, little one," she said, softly. She gently rocked the baby in a soothing motion, her heart swelling with exhilaration.

Calleigh smiled at the sight of her mother-in-law lightly swaying with Rosa, her daughter, the fact she and Eric had a daughter was a concept she still had difficulty grasping; this was too much of a good dream to be real. But as she felt Eric sit on the bed beside her and gently pull her into him, Calleigh let out a sigh of happiness that this wasn't her subconscious playing a trick on her, this was real, this was her life and, for once, it was perfect. She had her true family and that was all she would ever need.

Calleigh's eyes only left Carmen and Rosa when she felt Eric's lips touch her temple.

"Thank you for giving me a healthy, beautiful daughter," he whispered to her, keeping the moment between the two of them.

Calleigh lightly chuckled and she rested her head against Eric's shoulder as Carmen began to softly sing to Rosa; Eric recognized it as the one she used to sing to him and his sisters when they were young children. The lullaby was sung beautifully in Spanish and little Rosa, whose lips twitched in her sleep as the music flowed, heard the soft melody.

Calleigh could tell by looking at Carmen's delighted eyes that all the worries she had ever had for her son had evaporated, as though she had been reassured by seeing her son with a family of his own. Calleigh had always thought Eric would one day find a woman and have a family with her, but never until recently did she think that _she _would be that lucky woman. Now here she was, with her head against Eric's shoulder after just giving birth to his daughter, the daughter she kept her eyes on until she succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.

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><p>When she awoke she was well rested, but sore, yet the pain wasn't what she noticed, rather the fact Carmen was gone and Rosa was now in Eric's arms. He was holding her against his chest as he sat in the chair beside Calleigh, who took a moment to watch Eric and their baby girl in this moment she wanted to cherish.<p>

Eric was whispering softly to Rosa, so quietly to the extent Calleigh couldn't make out the majority of what he was saying. Though she did catch him say "I love you" a fair few times.

Rosa shifted in her blanket and began to suck her thumb, Eric chuckled, finding himself smiling at every movement she made, and bent down to kiss her forehead.

"You're already wrapped around her finger, aren't you?" Calleigh asked with a tired grin.

Eric looked up at Calleigh, a smile forming on his own lips to see she was awake.

"Maybe," he said with a light smirk, getting to his feet to stand closer to his wife's bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Great," she breathed, her eyes falling on the little being in Eric's arms. With her tawny skin tone and big brown eyes, from where Calleigh was sitting, Rosa looked exactly like her father. She contently sucked on her thumb as Eric smoothly rocked her against him.

"You know, Rosa, I think there is someone who would like to see you again," he whispered, giving Calleigh a smile before carefully resting his daughter in Calleigh's outstretched arms. Eric handled Rosa so delicately, as though she was made of petals and the slightest sudden movement would destroy her; Calleigh hadn't expected anything less.

Rosa didn't squirm as she was transferred from one set of arms to another, that was until she was secure in her mother's arms. She nestled closer to Calleigh and her other arm escaped the covering of the blanket to rest her tiny hand on Calleigh's finger, who had a hand resting atop the pink blanket.

The familiar warmth in Calleigh's heart once again spread through her as she took hold of her daughter's small hand, gently pressing her lips to its back.

"Hey, baby," she murmured as the realization that this beautiful baby was _theirs_ continued to make her heart race.

"Be warned," Eric said. "My mom may end up kidnapping her."

Calleigh laughed, her eyes yet to leave Rosa's face, unable to see the motherly, unthreatening woman complete such a task, even if it was just a joke.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep on her," Calleigh sighed, guiltily, turning to apologetically look at Eric.

"She understood," he assured her, placing his hand on her knee. "She's been here before."

Calleigh lightly laughed before their eyes rested on the precious face of their little Rosa, whose hand was now wrapped securely around Calleigh's finger. The light pressure of the baby's tiny fingers around Calleigh's longer one brought an automatic smile to her face. She bent down to place a light kiss on Rosa's forehead, her lips touching both the baby's skin and the fabric of her white hat.

"So how do you like being a momma?" Eric whispered, glancing between his wife and his daughter.

Calleigh sighed and shook her head, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she smiled. "I can't describe it. But I can definitely get used to this."

"Me too." Eric reached up to brush his fingertips along the shell of Rosa's ear, just to make sure she was real and all _this _wasn't a figment of his imagination.

"And how about you, how do you like being a daddy?" Calleigh asked, gently rocking the baby against her.

Eric chortled. "I'm loving every second."

Of course he was. Eric in the course of a single day had all he ever dreamed become a reality. He had Calleigh as his wife and they had a healthy baby as their daughter. At long last he has his family and he was happy.


End file.
